One look at our Position U. series reveals how much of an impact Miami players have made in the pro ranks. Nowhere is it more evident than at linebacker.

Using only former Miami players, you could put together a linebacker corps that would be the envy of just about any NFL team. In fact, the toughest part of the job would be deciding who to leave out of the starting lineup in a typical 4-3 alignment.

Future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis is a given for one starting spot. The other two starting assignments likely would go to three-time Pro Bowl selections Jon Beason and Jonathan Vilma. That means we'd have to leave out D.J. Williams, who has collected at least 114 tackles in four of his eight pro seasons.

Williams would form a rather solid second-team unit with Tennessee Titans starter Colin McCarthy and free agent Rocky McIntosh, who has made 471 tackles in his six-year career.

"The list just goes on and on," McCarthy said. "It says a lot about the program and how the position of linebacker really stands out as far as players from Miami making it to the NFL."

If that group doesn't seem imposing enough, consider how strong it would have looked before injuries prematurely ended the career of Dan Morgan.

That kind of all-star lineup is what helps bring top linebacker prospects to Miami every year. McCarthy said he selected Miami in part because of the school's history of sending players to the NFL.

"It seemed like every year they had a first-round pick, they had guys getting drafted and you'd see in the NFL how much success they were having," McCarthy said. "I think especially, just from high school and going to college, your overall goal is to play in the league. I felt ... if I wanted to play in the NFL, Miami would be a great opportunity for me."

Lewis obviously represents the greatest example. The No. 26 overall pick in the 1996 draft has earned 10 All-Pro honors and 13 Pro Bowl invitations in his remarkable career. He was named the NFL defensive player of the year in 2000 and 2003.

But he certainly isn't the only star linebacker to come from Miami.

Beason earned three consecutive Pro Bowl invitations from 2008-10 before a torn Achilles tendon in the Carolina Panthers' 2011 season opener knocked him out for the rest of the year. Vilma, who also has been named to three Pro Bowls, has exceeded 100 tackles in six of his eight pro seasons. Vilma led the NFL with 169 tackles in 2005.

Williams has been a steady starter for the Denver Broncos since beginning his pro career in 2004. McCarthy, a fourth-round draft pick last year, replaced an injured Barrett Ruud in Tennessee's starting lineup as a rookie and performed so well that the Titans allowed Ruud to leave for the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent.

The Position U. series is our attempt to determine which schools provide the most NFL talent at each position. We will analyze a different position just about every day up until the April 26 start of the NFL Draft. For the purpose of this series, we only took into consideration players who were still active as of last season.

Lewis played at Miami for Dennis Erickson. Williams and Vilma signed with Miami during the Butch Davis era but played for Larry Coker the majority of their college careers. Beason and McIntosh also played for Coker. Adkins, Gooden, McCarthy and Sharpton played for both Coker and Randy Shannon. Spence spent most of his career with Shannon before playing his senior year under current Hurricanes coach Al Golden.

While head coaches have come and gone, Miami strength and conditioning coach Andreu Swasey has stuck around. Swasey was Miami's assistant strength coach in 1997 and 1998 before leaving for an assistant coaching job at Houston. He returned to Miami in 2000 and has remained there ever since.

"Through all the changes and through everything that's happened, he's the one guy who's been constant," McCarthy said. "He's always down there in the offseason. The NFL guys come back and work out with him."

McCarthy showed last season that it's possible for a mid-round pick to make an immediate impact as a rookie. One of his former college teammates will try to follow the same pattern.

Spence was a four-year starter who recorded 47 career tackles for loss at Miami, but his 5-foot-11 frame is a little small by NFL standards. The Web site nfldraftscout.com rates him as a likely third-round pick.

"He's a terrific football player, just obviously undersized," said Rob Rang, a senior draft analyst for nfldraftscout.com.

Spence's height indicates he could struggle to find a home in the NFL.

His school's track record suggests he"ll find a way to succeed anyhow.